Studying the Russell Group's 'facilitating subjects' will help students keep their options open. Photograph: Alamy

Every summer, come rain or shine, there is one day that will be remembered forever, as students nervously open their results.

It's that Billy Elliot moment, where parents watch forlornly as their offspring start to take control of their own destiny.

Results day is not just for A-level students about to hit the big wide world. AS-level results come out at the same time, and once they are out of the bag, the next big challenge arrives like a speeding juggernaut.

Which subject should your son or daughter drop? Simply lose the subject with the poorest grade? Or the one they like least?

As an adult it's hard enough knowing what you want to do, so chances are a 16- or 17-year-old will find these decisions very confusing.

So called "soft" subjects, in both arts and science, have been given a hard time and the exams regulator, Ofqual, is considering whether to axe subjects like performance studies and film studies, along with economics and business, engineering and human biology.

New graduate Sorrel Kinton believes the subject choices she made at A-level placed her at a disadvantage. Determined to study dance as a 14-year-old, she chose English literature and language, dance, art and performing arts, before going to Falmouth University to take a degree in dance performance.

Since graduating last year, she has found it difficult to find work. She believes it's because, despite obtaining a first-class honours degree, employers perceive her academic credentials as lacking in rigour compared to those studying more established subjects.

"I would be in a better position now if I had chosen more traditional subjects," says Sorrel. "People have very set ideas about what sort of skills I've got. They seem to think I can just put my toe in my ear, or do a triple pirouette, which is not what it's about. I've learned to build relationships and perform well under pressure, but that's hard to express on a CV."

She believes it would have been more useful to have found other routes into dance, such as training on the job and auditioning for companies after finishing school, and that pursuing more traditional subjects at school would have helped her establish a smoother career path.

It has produced a list of "facilitating subjects", which include maths, further maths, English literature, physics, biology, chemistry, geography, history and languages. These more established subjects provide access to the greatest number of its courses.

The Russell Group say this is not a value judgment about the validity of each subject. Instead, the aim of the list is to provide accurate information on entrance requirements. It has therefore tried to move away from using the term "soft" subjects.

Dunstan Hadley, external relations manager at the Russell Group, says: "It's not particularly helpful. For example, if you're clear you want to do music and you're a talented musician and want to do a course at one of our universities, then you would have to do music A-level. You don't necessarily have to do one of our facilitating subjects."

However, it pays to check the small print, because many subjects such as law, anthropology, archaeology, sociology, philosophy and politics often have no essential A-level requirements.

Julia Paolitto, media relations manager at the University of Oxford, says the university sees A-levels as only one part of its admissions process.

"We also use personal statements, references, GCSE profile, coursework samples, admissions aptitude test results, contextual information, and multiple interviews to identify which 3,500 of our 17,500 applicants show the greatest aptitude and potential for success on an Oxford undergraduate degree when determining who receives an offer.

"A substantial minority of applicants apply without A-levels, so it's important that we use measures like subject aptitude tests to be able to distinguish between candidates with different qualifications, as well as those who come from different educational backgrounds."

The takeaway advice? Studying the subjects your son or daughter most enjoys at A-level is more likely to motivate them to achieve the required grades.

But remember that certain subjects – the "facilitating subjects" outlined by the Russell Group – are more highly sought after by the Russell Group universities.

If they know exactly what subject they want to do, simply encourage them to check out each university's entrance requirements to ensure they're on the right path.

Otherwise, studying at least one or two established subjects will lead to a wider choice of university courses.

• What's been your experience? Should students avoid "soft" subjects, or study what they love? Let us know in the comment section below.